Refrigerator car



Aug. 31,1954

Filed Jan. 21 1952 A. N. CAMPBELL 2,687,624

REFRIGERATOR CAR 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 31; 1954 A. N. CAMPBELLREFRIGERATOR CAR 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 21, 1952 Aug. 31, 1954 A.N. CAMPBELL REFRIGERATOR CAR 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 21, 1952 Aug.31, 1954 A. N. CAMPBELL REFRIGERATOR CAR 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Jan. 21.1952 Patented Aug. 31, 1954 UNlTED STATES ATENT OFFICE 15 Claims. 1

This invention relates to improvements in refrigerator cars and theprimary object of the invention is to provide a mechanicallyrefrigerated refrigerator car in which the entire refrigeratingmechanism is located externally of the normal load space of the carwhereby the car interior is available throughout its entire length andwidth and to at least its normal loading height for load stowage. Afurther object i to provide a refrigerator car as aforesaid in which thepowering means and all the refrigerating mechanism except the evaporatoris suspended beneath the car in suchwise as to be readily accessible forinspection and servicing. A still further object is to provide arefrigerator car as aforesaid in which the refrigerating mechanism isprimarily diesel engine powered. Another object is to provide arefrigerator car having diesel engine powered mechanical refrigeratingmechanism in which a diesel engine-generator-alternator set is somounted beneath the car that it may be easily and quickly moved, by oneman, from its operating position beneath a car to an inspection andservicing position at one side of the car and as easily and quicklyreturned to operating position. Still another object is to provide suchdisposition on a car of mechanical refrigerating mechanism and poweringmeans therefor as will be applicable to refrigerator cars of standarddesign and construction, with little or no structural change in thecars, whereby the invention may be applied to existing cars quite aswell as to new cars. Various other objects and the advantages of theinvention may be ascertained from the following description and theaccompanying drawings.

It has been demonstrated that the operating cost of mechanicallyrefrigerated cars may be sufficiently less than the operating cost ofwater-ice and salt refrigerated cars to more than compensate for thehigher capital cost of refrigerating mechanism as compared with thecapital cost of water-ice and salt refrigerating equipment but the greatdisadvantage of mechanical refrigeration has been the substantial amountof space within the car occupied by the refrigerating mechanism and itspower plant, with consequent reduction in load stowage space and loss ofcar earning power. To minimize this disadvantage, the compartmentcontaining the primary powering means has been made as small as possiblebut this precludesinspection and servicing of the powering means in situand necessitates removal of the powering means from the car, as bymounting it on a slide for movement through a doorway in the car side.

It has been proposed to avoid loss of stowage space in the car bymounting the powering means and elements of the refrigerating mechanismunder the car body but heretofore this has not been found practicablebecause of space limitations and because of inaccessibility of thepowering means for inspection and servicing and because of the lack ofany practicable means for moving the powering means to a position whereit may be inspected and serviced. The only practical type of primarypowering means is an internal combustion engine-generator-alternator setand for dependability and economy of operation a diesel engine ispreferable but has not heretofore been found practicable because of thesize and weight of a diesel-electric set suitable for primary poweringof a refrigerator car refrigerating mechanism. The vertical spacebetween the under floor of a refrigerator car and the plane of over-railclearance, below which nothing may project, is not sufficient toaccommodate a suitable diesel-electric set. If projection of the engineset below the over-rail clearance is sought to be avoided by allowingthe engine to project through and above the car underfloor, inspectionand servicing in situ are impossible and because of the projection ofthe engine through the car floor, it is likewise impossible, because ofthe car side sill, to move the engine set transversely beyond the car inthe same manner as when it is located within the car. Moreover,feasibility of lowering the engine set for inspection and servicingsufficiently to clear the car underfloor is strictly limited byproximity of the railway track rails and by the weight of the engineset. The maximum clearance that can be provided between the base of asuitable diesel-electric set and the top of rail is only about 8 inchesand the weight of the set is in the neighborhood of 2000 pounds.Furthermore, it is necessary in order to avoid prohibitive car operatingcosts through lost running time and, more important, for preservation ofa perishable load in the car that the engine set be so mounted a to beeasily and quickly accessible for inspection and servicing at any pointalong the route of the car and without employment of externalfacilities. In practice, it should be pos- Sible for one man to inspectand give normal servicing to an engine set and return it to operation ina matter of 10 to 15 minutes. It will be realized from the foregoingthat the limitations of space and time and the weight of the engine setpose a very considerable problem which must be solved before it becomespracticable to mount the primary powering means of a mechanicalrefrigerating set beneath a car body.

The present invention provides a complete solution of the foregoingproblem and consists, essentially, in mounting all parts of a mechanicalrefrigerating equipment (expect the evaporator) and the primary poweringmeans therefor at suitable points beneath a car body, the primarypowering means being mounted on a cradle swingingly suspended from thecar underframe for movement transversely of the car from an operatingposition close under the car to an inspection and servicing position atone side of the car, and vice versa, the suspension means includingmeans to counterbalance the weight of the primary powering means andsuspension means during the aforesaid movements.

In greater detail, the invention consists in the features andcombinations of features herein disclosed, together withall suchmodifications thereof and substitutions of equivalents therefor as arewithin the scope of the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate that embodiment of theinvention now preferred, but to the details of which the invention isnot confined:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a refrigerator car underframe showing thedisposition of power plant and refrigerating plant units thereon.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the car frame at the line 22 of Fig.1, indicating the suspension of a power plant unit and acompressor-condenser unit.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional View of the car frame at the line 3--3 ofFig. 1, showing the suspension and form of the fuel tank.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a car at the line 44 of Fig. 1,showing the suspension of the battery and the power plant andrefrigerating mechanism controls and the location of the refrigerantevaporator and air circulating means.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the mid portion of the roof frame of the car ofFig. 1, showing the suspension therefrom of the refrigerant evaporatorand the air circulating means.

Fig. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of a car underframe at the lineE6 of Fig. l, on an enlarged scale, illustrating the suspension mountingof the power plant.

Fig. '7 is a side elevation of a portion of car underframe, on the samescale as Fig. 6, showing the suspension of the power plant.

Fig. 8 is a plan view of a portion of car underframe, on the same scaleas Fig. 6, further showing the power plant suspension means.

Referring more particularly to the drawings and initially to Figs. 1 to5 thereof, l l designates the center sill, I2 the side sills, IS thebody bolsters, M the transoms and I5 the intermediate cross members of acar frame. Toward one end of the frame, between a transom I4 and theremote cross member l5 at the same end of the car, and between thecenter sill and one of the side sills, there are suspended an encasedpower plant designated as a whole by the numeral l3 and, between thecenter sill and the other side sill, an encased, electric motor drivenrefrigerant compressor, heat exchanger, condenser and receiver unitdesignated as a whole by the numeral IT. The power plant is an internalcombustion engine-generator-alternator set, the engine being preferablya diesel engine. In the mid portion of the car, between the transoms I4,there is suspended on one side of the center sill a storage battery I8and on the other side of the center sill a power plant and refrigeratingplant control means designated as a whole by the numeral I9. Toward theopposite end of the car from the power plant and between the crossmembers l5 there is suspended a fuel tank 28 which preferably extendsfrom side to side of the under-frame and has a central portion 2i ofreduced depth to underlie the center sill. The side portions of the tankextend upwardly from the level of the bottom of the center sill and areprovided under or adjacent the side sills with filling necks 22 and atconvenient points with overflow and venting means 23. The bottom 24 ofthe tank slopes downwardly from the sides toward the center line of theunderframe and, near its lowest point, connects with a fuel feed pipe 25which extends to the power plant and is provided near the same with aquick operating coupling of any suitable sort, indicated at 26. whichmay include automatic cutoff means to prevent escape of fuel when thecoupling is uncoupled. It is to be noted that all the aforesaidsuspended elements, while they approach close to it, do not depend belowthe standard overrail clearance indicated by the lines 27.

In the mid portion of the car, immediately under the roof frame 28, asub-frame 29 is suspended from the roof frame and carries a refrigerantevaporator of any suitable sort, indicated at 39, and preferably formedof two independent sections, each having its own expansion valve 8i.Preferably the sub-frame 29 also carries blowers 32 to force air overthe evaporators and circulate it through the car, the blot ers beingdriven by electric motors 33 enclosed in a housing 34 adapted to excludemotor heat and odours from the interior of the car.

Alternatively, the blowers and motors may be omitted and the evaporatorsmay be mounted in tanks close under the roof (not shown) in which theymay be submerged in brine.

Referring now-t0 Figs. 6, 7 and 8 which illustrate the power plant andthe details of its suspension means, 35 designates a cradle on whichmechanical elements of the power plant, designated as a whole by thenumeral 35, are. mounted by means of lugs or flanges S'I resting on thecradle. The cradle comprises spaced outer and inner longitudinal members38 and. 39, respectively, connected at adjacent ends by transverse endmembers 49 and 4! riveted thereto to constitute a rectangular frame.These members are preferably angle bars arranged to present upstandingflanges 2 at the periphery of the frame and other flanges 43 extendinginwardly of the frame from the lower edges of the flanges 52, as bestshown in Fig. 8. The supporting lugs or flanges 37 of the power plantrest on the inwardly extending flanges 43 of the members 38 and 33 andmay be connected thereto by bolts passing through apertures 4-4 in theflanges 43. The power plant is preferably a dieselengine-generator-alternator set of standard construction.

The cradle 35 is suspended at each end from the car underframe byparallel links 49 and 50, pivotally connected at their lower ends tobrackets 5| fixed to the cradle end men'ibers 43 and 4|. Th upper endsof these links are pivotally connected to brackets 52 and 53 fixed,respectively, to the transom I4 and to the cross frame member I5,adjacent the ends of the cradle, as shown in Fig. 1. The link 50 at eachend of the cradle has an arm 54 rigidly connected to it and extending,preferably from its upper end, to-

ward the center sill ll, the link and arm constituting a bell-cranklever fulcrumed at the upper pivotal point of the lever 50. At each endof the cradle, a lever 55 is pivotally mounted near one of its ends inthe adjacent bracket 52 or 53 and provides a short arm above the pivotalpoint and a long arm below. The upper end of each lever 55 is pivotallyconnected to one end of a link 55 the other end of which is pivotallyconnected to the free end of the bell-crank arm 54. The lower end ofeach lever 55 is pivotally connected to one end of a counterbalancedevice 55, the other end of which is anchored to a bracket 5? fixed tothe center sill. Each counterbalance device is preferably of theelongatable link-compression spring type, comprising a pair ofoppositely facing U-shaped tension members 58 arranged in parallelismand interdigitating relation and connected at their closed ends to thelever 55 and to the bracket 57, respectively; a spring seating cup 59 atthe open end of each said tension member, retained by adjusting nuts 68threaded on the end portions of the member arms and apertured forslidingengagement of the arms of the other member 58 therein; and ahelical spring 5i surrounding the members between the cups 5!; and incompression between the cups.

The cradle and its suspension means are shown in full lines in Fig. 6 intheir normal travelling postion in which they support the power plant 35in normal operating position beneath the car underframe. It will benoted that in this position the links 49 and 50 incline from their upperpivotal points toward the central vertical plane of the car. The linkshave capacity for outswinging movement to an opposite inclination tocarry the cradle through a descending and then ascending arcuate path,laterally of the car to a position in which the power plant is locatedbeyond the side of the car, all as shown in single dot and dash lines.During this movement the bell-crank arms 54 swing downwardly. The upperpivotal points of the links 56 and the pivotal points of the levers 55are so related that during an initial part of the outswinging movementof the links and the downward movement of the bell-crank arms 55, thelinks 55 move the levers 55 and cause their lower arms to swingoutwards, as shown in double dot and dash lines, to elongate thecounterbalance devices, drawing the inner spring seats 59 outwards andcompressing the springs 5| to oppose the downward movement of the cradleand power plant. At an intermediate point in the travel of the links andcradle, when the uppermost pivotal points of the levers 55, the upperpivotal points of the levers 50, and the pivotal connections of thebell-crank arms 54 and links 55 are in alignment, the outswingingmovement of the levers 55 ceases. This intermediate point in travel isreached approximately when the cradle is at the lowest point in itsarcuate path of travel. During further outsvvinging movement of thelinks 59 and 50 and the cradle, the aforesaid relation of pivotal pointspermits the lower arms of the levers 55 to swing inwardly. During thisinswing of the levers 55, the reflex action of the compressed springs BIis transmitted through the levers 55, links 55 and the bell-crank arms54 to the links 50 to urge them to further outswinging movement, withconsequent upward movement of the cradle and power plant in theirarouate path of travel. The springs 6! have combined effect toapproximately counterbalance the action of gravity on the cradle andpower plant when at the extremes of their movement, so that the cradleand power plant tend to remain at either extreme of their movement.While the links 49 and 58- have been shown as of equal length andparallel so that the inclination of the cradle (shown as 0) is notaltered during cradle travel, this is not necessarily the case.

In order to hold the cradle and power plant thereon in their normaltravelling and operative position, a locking hook 62 is pivotallymounted on a bracket 63 fixed to and extending inwardly from the cradlemember 39 (Figs. 6 and 8) and is adapted to have hooking engagement witha locking rail 64 carried by brackets 65 depending from the center sillII. This hook is connected by a rod 66 with an operating lever 61pivotally mounted on a bracket 58 fixed to the upright flange of theouter cradle member 38. When the lever 61 is moved to parallelism withthe member 38, it positively moves the hook 62 into locking engagementwith the rail 54 and when the lever is swung outwardly from the cradle,it moves the hook to disengage the rail 64. The lever 61 is providedwith a captive locking pin 69 to pass through the lever and through alug I0 springing from the bracket 68, when the lever is in position tohold the hook 62 in cradle locking position.

Means is provided to hold the cradle against being moved longitudinallyof the car by reason of inertia of the cradle when the speed of carmovement alters. This means comprises tapered plug members H fixed toone of the rail 65 or the cradle member 39, near the ends of the cradle,and socket members 72 fixed to the other of said rail and cradle inpositions to receive the plug members. The socket members presentconverging surfaces spaced in the direction of car length to receivebetween them the converging surfaces of the plug members, thereby toposition the cradle in the longitudinal direction of the car. When thelocking hook 62 is moved into engagement with the locking rail 64 itcauses the plugs H to wedge into the sockets 12 to hold the cradleagainst movement toward the center sill, as well as against movementlongitudinally of the car. As the hook 62 holds the cradle againstmovement away from the center sill, it will be seen that the cradle andpower plant are held against any movement relative to the carunderframe.

To initially lock the cradle in its outswung and in its inswungpositions, double ended latches F3 are pivotally mounted on the brackets52 and 53 in position to be engaged by lugs 15 on the links 49, when thelinks reach either extreme of their movement. These latches operateautomatically to hold the cradle against rebounding when it is moved toits inner position and the members 'H and 12 engage and also to lock andhold the cradle in its outswung position while the power plant is beingserviced. As the springs counterbalance the weight of the power plant atthe extremes of its travel, it will be understood that but littleholding effect is required of the latches. The latches 14 may be of anysuitable sort, those illustrated being of the gravity type and includingweighted actuating levers l5 having of movement relatively to thelatches 13 so as to power them for latching action selectively in eitherdirection.

As previously stated, and as best shown in Fig. 6, the dimensions of adiesel engine suitable for primary powering of a refrigerator carrefrigerating mechanism are such that there is not sumcient verticalspace between the over-rail clearance line, indicated at 21, and theunder floor 76 of the car to accommodate the engine. Even when thecradle 35 is located practically at the clearance line and the engine isset as low as is possibl in the cradle, part of the engine will extendthrough and above the floor i6 and almost up to the inner floor, or drippan, H which underlies the usual floor racks. A housing 18 is mounted onthe underfloor to cover the upwardly projecting part of the engine andexclude therefrom insulating material which usually fills the spacebetween the floors and leave a clear path for the lateral movement ofthe engine from its operating position and return threto. It will alsobe seen that the lengths and arcuate movement of the links 35 and 56 aresuch that the cradle just clears the top of rail when it is at thelowest point in its travel, and that the highest point of the enginewill just pass under the side sill l2.

The power plant is enclosed in a generally rectangular housingcomprising essentially an upper stationary section '59 depending fromthe underfloor it, a lower movable section 89 mounted on the cradle, anda removable outer section The inner and end walls of the upper and thelower sections are arranged to register with one another and to meet inedge to edge abutting relation and the removable section extends betweenthe outer walls of the upper and lower sections. The outer wall 82 ofthe upper section is located outwardly of the vertical plane of theouter cradle member 38 and depends only a short distance from the floor16, so as to permit passage under it of the engine but the inner wall 83may, and preferably does, depend considerably more. The movable part 89of the housing includes a low outer wall 84 which extends from thecradle at an angle determined by the clearance line indicated at 27 tothe vertical plane of the upper section outer wall 82. This wall at isformed with an inwardly offset portion 85 exposing the cradle member 33and providing a recess for accommodation of the locking lever ill. Theinner wall 86 of the movable section need extend upwardly from thecradle only enough to carry the engine muffler 8'1. 'The end walls ofthe upper and the lower housing sections may be of any verticaldimensions desired and their meeting edges 83 may follow any desiredline, such as the uniform inclination downwardly from the outer wall, asindicated. The outer removable section 8! extends from end to end of thehousing and from the upper section outer wall 82 to the lower sectionwall 84 and may be suspended from the upper section wall 82 by hinges 89preferably of a hook-on type permitting easy removal of the section. Anysuitable fastening means, such as the bolts 90, may be provided near thelower edge of the section to secure it in closed position. A handle 9!may be provided on the removable section for convenience in lifting andremoving it. A second handle 92 is provided on the outer wall of thelower housing section to serve for drawing the cradle and power plantout from under the car. The meeting edges of the housing sections areformed in any way suitable for exclusion of dust from the interior ofthe housing.

Although not shown, it will be understood the usual controls areprovided, also the usual and necessary fluid and electrical connectionsbetween elements of the apparatus and between them and the controls.

When it is required to service the power plant,

the removable housing section is removed, the fuel line disconnected at26, the lever 57 unlocked and swung out from the cradle to disengage thehook 62 from the locking rail G 3 and the latches 14 released. Thecradle with the power plant thereon may then be very easily pulled outfrom beneath the car, by one man. The upper part 19 of the power planthousing remains under the car and the lower part, which does notinterfere with servicing, moves with the cradle. When servicing iscomplete, the cradle with the power plant is pushed back under the car,where it is automatically held by the latches 73 until the lock 62 isactuated by the lever Gl. In the first half of both the outswinging andthe inswinging movements, when the cradle is descending to the lowestpart of its arcuate path of travel, the action of gravity on the movingmass is preferably slightly more than counterbalanced by compression ofthe springs 8!, so that the structure does not move of itself butrequires a slight outward pull or inward push. In ti 2 second half ofboth swinging movements, when the mass is rising from the lowest part ofits path, the reflex action of the springs again substantiallycounterbalances the action of gravity and tends to move the structure tothe end of its path, with automatic latching effect. It may happen onoccasion that the only inspection or servicing required can be effectedon removal of the housing section OI, without swinging the power plantout from under the car. It will be obvious that inspection and servicingof a power plant mounted according to this invention may be accomplishedmore easily than if the power plant was mounted within the car, as theoperation is performed conveniently close to ground level, instead offrom a platform or ladder, and the operator can move freely around theplant. If the power plant suffers from disorder that cannot be cured byordinary servicing, the entire plant may be removed very quickly andeasily from the cradle by removing a few anchor bolts and then replacedby another plant. Such an operation is more easily performed from groundlevel than if the plant is at car floor level.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A refrigerator car comprising an underframe and a roof frame andmechanical refrigerating means for said car, including an internalcombustion engine-generator set as powering means and a refrigerantevaporator; all said refrigerating means excepting the refrigerantevaporator being suspended from and beneath the underframe on oppositesides of the longitudinal and transverse center lines thereof, whilesaid evaporator is suspended from and close beneath the roof frame,approximately midway between. the ends of the car; and means permanentlyconnected to said powering means solely suspending the latter andswingingly supporting it for movement laterally of the car from anoperating position beneath the car to a servicing position at one sideof the car.

2. A refrigerator car comprising '1 underframe and elements of amechanical ref] means for the car including an internal combustionengine-generator set as power means; a cradle to support said poweringme .is; means to suspend the cradle from the und frame with capacity tosupport the cradle for movement from a position beneath the underframeto a position at one side of said frame; and means to control the speedof movement of the cradle and powering means thereon.

3. Structure according to claim 2 including means to lock the cradle ateach extreme of its movement to the underframe and means to lock thecradle when beneath the underframe against movement longitudinally ofthe car and relatively thereto.

4. A refrigerator car comprising an underframe and elements of amechanical refrigerating means for the car including an internalcombustion engine-generator set as powering means; a cradle to supportsaid powering means, said cradle being movable from a position beneaththe underframe to a position to one side of said frame; suspension linkspivotally connected between the ends of said cradle and the underframeand inclining upwardly toward a side of the underframe when the cradleis beneath the frame and being oppositely inclined when the cradle ispositioned to one side of the frame, whereby the cradle is constrainedto move downwardly and then unwardly in an arcuate path; and means tosubstantially counterbalance the Weight of the cradle and power plantthereon when beneath the underframe and when at one side thereof.

5. A refrigerator car according to claim 4 in which the counterbalancemeans includes springs and means connected between the cradle and theunderframe to increasingly load said springs during downward movement ofthe cradle in its arcuate path and to transmit reflex action of saidsprings to urge the cradle to upward movement in its arcuate path.

6. A refrigerator car according to claim 4 including means to lock saidcradle against swlnging movement when at each of its terminal positions;and means to hold the cradle against move ment in the longitudinaldirection of the under-- frame, relatively thereto, when positionedbeneath the underframe.

'7. A refrigerator car comprising an underframe and elements of amechanical refrigerating means for the car including an internalcombustion I engine-generator set as powering means; a cradle to supportsaid powering means, said cradle being movable from a position beneaththe underframe to a position to one side of said frame; suspension linkspivotally connected between each end of said cradle and the underframeand inclining upwardly and away from the longitudinal center line of thecar when the cradle is beneath the car and being oppositely inclinedwhen the cradle is positioned to one side of the underframe, whereby thecradle is constrained to move in an arcuate path, first downwardly andthen upwardly; an arm projecting rigidly from one of said suspensionlinks at each end of the cradle; a lever pivoted intermediate its endsadjacent each said armed link; link connection between each of said armsand an end of the adj acent lever; a variable length link connectedbetween the other end of each said lever and the underframe, includingspring means; the angular relation of the suspension links and theirarms and the relative locations of the pivotal points of the suspensionlinks and the levers being such that, during downward movement of thecradle in its arcuate path, the springs are loaded and oppose cradlemovement, and during upward movement of the cradle in its path, reflexaction of the springs urges the cradle to such upward movement.

8. A refrigerator car comprising an underframe and elements of amechanical refrigerating means for the car including an internalcombustion engine-generator set as powering means; a cradle to supportsaid powering means; a pair of links at each end of the cradle pivotallyconnected at their lower ends to the cradle and pivotally connected attheir upper ends to the underframe, with capacity to swingingly supportthe cradle for movement from a position beneath the underframe to aposition at one side of the same; a lug on one of the links at each endof the cradle; latching means carried by the underframe at each end ofthe cradle, positioned to be engaged by said lugs at each extreme oflink movement to releasably hold the cradle at the extremes of itsmovement.

9. A refrigerator car comprising an underframe and elements of amechanical refrigerating means for the car including an internalcombustion engine-generator set as powering means; a cradle to supportsaid powering means; a pair of links at each end of the cradle pivotallyconnected at their lower ends to the cradle and pivotally connected attheir upper ends to the underframe, with capacity to swingingly supportthe cradle for movement from a position beneath the underframe to aposition at one side of same; a rigidly mounted locking rail carried bythe underframe; means for positioning the cradle in the longitudinaldirection of the underframe, when the cradle is located under the frame,and for holding it against movement longitudinally of the frame,comprising interengageable members on said cradle and frame; and meansto positively lock the cradle against movement transversely of theunderframe, thereby to ensure maintenance of effective interengagementof said interengageable members.

10. Structure according to claim 9 in which the interengaging memberscomprise a plug member having substantially vertical surfaces convergingin the transverse direction of the underframe, carried by one of saidcradle and locking rail; and a socket member having substantiallyvertical surfaces converging similarly to the surfaces of the plugmember, carried by the other of said cradle and locking rail in positionfor engagement with the plug member when the cradle is in its extremeinswung position beneath the underframe, with effect to position thecradle in the longitudinal direction of the underframe; and in which thelocking means includes a hook pivotally mounted on the cradle; means tomove said hook into hooking engagement with the rail, thereby to holdsaid cradle in its extreme inswung position and hold said plug andsocket members in operative engagement for holding the cradle againstmovement longitudinally of the underframe.

1. A refrigerator car comprising an underframe including center and sidesills and transverse members; a car underfloor resting on saidunderframe; a car upper floor spaced above the underfloor; an internalcombustion engine-ge erator set normally disposed beneath the underframeand extending substantially from the overrail clearance, below which nopart of the car may depend, upwardly and through the underfloor; meansswingingly suspending said enginegenerator set from the transversemembers of the frame for movement from a position beneath the underframeto a position at one side thereof, said means being adapted to cause theset to move in an arcuate path, the depth of which is such that theuppermost part of the set will pass under a side sill while the lowestpart of the set will clear a railway track rail on which the car stands.

12. A refrigerator car comprising an underframe including a center and aside sill and transverse members connected between said center and sidesills; a cradle frame to be disposed longitudinally of the underframeand therebeneath; a suspension link at each end of the cradle pivotallyconnected at its upper end to the underframe adjacent a side sillthereof and pivotally connected at its lower end to an end of thecradle, adjacent the outer longitudinal edge thereof; a bell-crank leverat each end of the cradle, pivotally connected at its elbow to theunderframe, intermediate the side and center sills, and including adepending cradle suspending arm pivoted at its lower end to an end ofthe cradle adjacent the inner longitudinal edge thereof; said links andsuspension arms being adapted to swing in vertical planes transverse ofthe underframe and to carry the cradle from an inner. position beneaththe underframe to an outer position at one side of the underframe; thesecond arm of each said bell-crank lever projecting toward the centersill; a lever at each end of the cradle, fulcrumed near one end to theunderframe, intermediate said link and bell-crank. lever; a connectinglink extending from the upper end of each said lever to the free endofeach said second bell-crank arm and pivotally connectecl'to each; anelongatable link connectedbetween the lower end of each said lever andthe underframe adjacent the center sill thereof, including a spring incompression.

13. A refrigerator car comprising an underframe including a center silland a side sill, and

elements of a mechanical refrigerating means for the car including aninternal combustion engine-generator set as powering means, saidpowering means being normally disposed beneath the underframe betweenthe center and a side sill thereof; means to movably support thepowering means in said normal position with capacity for movementtransversely of the car from its said normal position to a position toone side of the car and for return to normal position, said supportingmeans being formed and adapted to lower the powering means as it movestransversely 0 Number 12 of the car sufiiciently to enable it to passbeneath the side sill; and means to oppose the downward movement of thepowering means and to assist upward movement thereof during return tonormal position.

14. A refrigerator car comprising, in combina-.

15. A refrigerator car comprising, in combination, an underframe andmechanical refrigerating means for said car including an internalcombus- 'tion engine-generator set, as powering means,

located beneath the car and projecting above the level of the lower edgeof the underframe side sill when said powering means is in its lowestpermissible travelling position; and means for suspending said poweringmeans from the underframe and for moving the powering means laterally ofthe car between an operating and travelling position beneath the car anda servicing position at one side of the car and between servicing andoperating positions and for lowering the powering means during movementfrom operating position sufficiently to permit its passage beneath theunderframe side sill and for raising it during movement to operating andtravelling position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NameDate Ashley et al June 2, 1942 Melcher Feb. 14, 1950 Henny Feb, 13, 1951Goss Mar. 14, 1953

